Remakes might not have been working at the box office lately, but the Hindi filmmakers’ fascination with them doesn’t seem to be ending. At least a half-dozen remakes of South Indian movies are presently in development, including one by Phantom Studios. The production banner announced the remake of last year’s Tamil blockbuster Love Today just in February in association with its original producers, AGS Entertainment. Three months on, the makers have finalized the cast for this romantic comedy and are set to get it off the ground in the second half of this year.
Peepingmoon.com has learned that Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan, and Sridevi and Boney Kapoor’s younger daughter, Khushi Kapoor, have been locked in to headline the Love Today remake. Although their casting rumours have been going on for a while, it was only recently that both were signed on for this film. Junaid and Khushi will play a deeply in-love young couple in this quirky romantic drama, stepping into the shoes of Pradeep Ranganathan and Ivana from the original. The casting for other roles, originally played by Sathyaraj, Yogi Babu, and Raadhika Sarathkumar, is also underway and is expected to be finalized by next month. Secret Superstar and Laal Singh Chaddha director Advait Chandan has been brought on board to helm this remake, and he has apparently already begun preparing for the production in July 2023.
"Junaid and Khushi are perfectly suited for this movie. It’s an entertaining look at love in today’s technologically advanced world and has very well been adapted for Hindi-speaking audiences. The makers have made several changes to make it a little more mainstream, but the core theme of modern love and the emotional trials of families has been retained as it is. Both starkids already share a good rapport with each other and are eagerly waiting to shoot together," an industry source told us. The film will mark Junaid and Khushi’s second acting project, following their debut films slated to release this year. While Junaid makes his acting debut with Yash Raj Films’ Siddharth P. Malhotra-directed thriller drama, Maharaja, Khushi debuts in Bollywood with Zoya Akhtar’s Netflix adaptation of The Archies, alongside Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter, Suhana Khan, and Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson, Agastya Nanda.
Even though the Love Today remake will be Khushi Kapoor’s second film, it will mark her theatrical debut as her first movie, The Archies, premieres directly on Netflix. The 22-year-old girl follows in the footsteps of her elder sister, Janhvi Kapoor, who also debuted in showbiz with a remake film. Janhvi’s first movie, Dhadak, was a remake of the 2016 Marathi blockbuster Sairat and starred Shahid Kapoor’s half-brother Ishaan Khatter opposite her. While Dhadak focused on the struggles faced by a couple due to casteism, Love Today is a light-hearted drama that explores the chaos that ensues when a couple swaps their phones for a day to test their relationship. Stay tuned to Peeping Moon for more updates on this film.
